Retreat centers a good place to meet God
Participants don’t want to ‘rough it’ as much, look for comforts of home.
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Using high-capacity leaders well
How one church in the Silicon Valley is extra-blessed with high-potential volunteers — and how you can be, too.
Read More >Aging pushes churches to fiscal brink
Some aging congregations are mergering with younger, multi-cultural congregations in order to stay alive. By Jeff Brumley Things were looking bleak for Orange Grove Baptist Church and its aging membership when Greg Shoemaker arrived as its pastor about a year ago. Located just north of Pascagoula, Miss., the congregation and community around it had been […]
Read More >For aging religious leaders, is it still ‘till death us do part’?
By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) When aging religious leaders reach the top echelons of temporal and spiritual power, their followers have a certain expectation: Till death us do part. But Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise resignation has shifted that calculus, prompting introspection about traditional understandings of religions’ senior management and when, if and how to let […]
Read More >The simple act of encouragement
By Sam S. Rainer III Why do people return to church? One myth that could be easily dismissed is that they were too angry at the church to return. In fact, in one of our studies, the rechurched told us in overwhelming numbers that anger at the church was not a factor in their departures. […]
Read More >New program to enhance ministry of executive pastors
By Rez Gopez-Sindac DALLAS – XPastor, a learning network for executive pastors and others in similar roles, is launching a new program to help church leaders get the education and training they need to do their jobs more effectively. “About half of new executive pastors come straight out of business,” says Dr. David Fletcher, founder […]
Read More >Study looks at the impact of denominational reference in church names
When a church does not reference its denomination in the church name, unchurched people tend to see that church as less formal, rigid and old-fashioned, but this also makes them feel more uncertain and wonder whether the church is trying to hide its beliefs. Study findings just released by Grey Matter Research (Phoenix, AZ) among […]
Read More >Report: Megachurches thriving in tough economic times
By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) Despite the tough economy, many of the nation’s largest churches are thriving, with increased offerings and plans to hire more staff, a new survey shows. Just 3 percent of churches with 2,000 or more attendance surveyed by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based church think tank, said they were affected “very negatively” […]
Read More >All eyes on Texas, S.C. church property fights
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald (RNS) When disgruntled congregations have left hierarchical denominations such as the Episcopal Church, they’ve often lost property battles as civil courts ruled buildings and land are not theirs to keep. But outcomes could be different this year, court watchers say, as high-profile cases involving dozens of Episcopal congregations in South Carolina […]
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